Eastern culture is rich with various sacred animals, each symbolizing dreams, aspirations, and cultural expressions. Among these, there is one creature that seems to embody the soul, sentiments, and aspirations of generations of Vietnamese people: the nghê. Many people say that looking at the nghê is like seeing the image of Vietnamese people. You can find the nghê in the most noble places like royal palaces, the most sacred sites like temples, and the most humble places like house gates. Nghê art showcases the highest creativity with diversity in shapes, expressions, materials, sizes, and techniques.
So what is the role of the nghê in Vietnamese culture? The nghê has many functions. The nghê standing guard represents authority and judgment; the nghê transforming into a dragon symbolizes righteous power; the nghê as a lamp post represents intellectual enlightenment; the nghê holding a gem symbolizes wisdom; the nghê with a dog’s body symbolizes loyalty, and more. The nghê is the most strongly humanized sacred animal in Vietnamese culture. Therefore, the nghê can appear serious and solemn, or playful and mischievous, with eyes that squint as if jesting. No other sacred animal can convey such a range of emotions as the nghê, leading researcher Trần Hậu Yên Thế to exclaim: “The playful and unrestrained nature of the nghê, carved and molded with great satisfaction, brings excitement to the carvings, whether in temples, pagodas, or mausoleums.”
The Vietnamese people revere the dragon, a symbol of favorable weather—a desire of an agricultural nation—and royal authority—a symbol of the feudal court. However, the dragon is distant and unattainable. The turtle symbolizes longevity but is melancholic and resigned. The phoenix is beautiful but fragile and feminine. The unicorn (lân) is foreign and strongly influenced by Chinese culture.
Only the nghê combines traits of various beloved creatures. It has the power of a lion, the strength of an eagle, the sanctity of a dragon, the loyalty of a dog, the flexibility of a snake, the determination of a carp, and the resilience of a goat. The nghê is small and humble, often nestled inconspicuously in carvings. Nghê statues are usually small, welcoming rather than intimidating like stone lion statues. Perhaps this is why the nghê resonates with the Vietnamese psyche, becoming a vessel for the soul and aspirations of generations of Vietnamese people.
A recent study by scholar Kiều Quang Chẩn in the publication “Echoes from the Đông Sơn Drum” introduces the image of the nghê as a lamp base, indicating that the nghê’s history in Vietnamese sculpture spans thousands of years. However, it was not until Vietnam gained independence and the first feudal monarchy was established under Đinh Tiên Hoàng Đế that the nghê’s distinctive marks became clear in decorative designs. Many artworks, especially from the Later Lê Dynasty, reached exemplary levels of aesthetics. The nghê symbolizes light and wisdom, often depicted as lamp bases. A 17th-century ceramic lamp in the Nam Định Museum’s collection, recognized as a national treasure, features a reclining nghê with playful nghê cubs, evoking a warm family feeling. Another national treasure, the Long Đình from the 17th century in the Hanoi Museum, also features numerous nghê designs.
The Đinh Tiên Hoàng Temple in Hoa Lư houses a pair of stone nghê statues considered exemplary in Vietnamese sculpture. These statues, one male and one female, are both solemn and gentle, incorporating many sacred elements such as dragons, clouds, eagles, carp, and dogs. The facial features and expressions are particularly human-like. Without the nghê, the cultural space of a village communal house would be incomplete. Nowhere is the nghê more diverse, lively, and humorous than in the carvings of village communal houses, from roof beams to the innermost sanctuaries. These invaluable treasures convey the thoughts and dreams of ancestors. The nghê’s life in carvings reflects both the people’s lives and their beautiful aspirations, depicted in scenes such as taming the nghê, riding the nghê, elephants fighting the nghê, and more.
Researcher Nguyễn Hùng Vĩ raises an interesting question: Why do people say “smile like a nghê” and not “smile like a dragon” or “smile like a phoenix”? Perhaps it’s because the nghê is the most humanized sacred animal. The nghê can laugh in various ways—chuckling, grinning, guffawing, or even belly laughing. These smiles reflect how generations have faced life with joy and sorrow.
Vietnam, a crossroads of many great cultures, has the opportunity to make the nghê a highly successful cultural creation in traditional art. Intentionally or not, the nghê was given the mission of being a purely Vietnamese symbol in the face of assimilation pressures from great cultures. Small but with a solid place in the symbolic cultural system, the nghê has even replaced the unicorn in the four sacred animals at Đinh Temple, symbolizing independent and self-reliant Vietnamese culture.
In recent decades, foreign-origin animals like lions, unicorns, and pixiu have pushed the nghê and other Vietnamese sacred animals into the cultural background. However, in recent years, researchers and cultural managers have begun to pay attention again to the nghê and Vietnamese sacred animals.
In an increasingly integrated and flat world, cultural identity becomes a valuable passport. The nghê is gradually reclaiming its rightful position, as no other Vietnamese sacred animal embodies the cultural harmony and artistic creativity as diversely and vividly as the nghê.
Vietnam chose the Golden Buffalo as the mascot for the 22nd SEA Games in 2003. There is no reason not to consider the nghê as a strong candidate for a national symbol, as it embodies the spirit and wisdom of the Vietnamese people throughout history.
Trương Nghê
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